Sometimes, in discussing the talents of Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook and his score-first approach to playing his position, it sounds as though Westbrook is some kind of unique proposition. There are, of course, plenty of other scoring point guards in the league, and if you want to go to the original point-producing point man, you have to turn the clock back to Tiny Archibald. While speed in the NBA has become an increasingly valuable commodity, no one combines tempo, strength and finishing ability the way Archibald once did like Westbrook does now.

“He does have that level of speed,” Thunder assistant coach Maurice Cheeks, who played against Archibald, said last June. “Tiny Archibald, the way he played, he would just try to blow by you if you gave him a step. And if you got out in the open court, it would not matter, he was going to get to the basket. Russell presents that same problem.”

Like Archibald, Westbrook is not much of a perimeter shooter, though he has been making progress in that area. And also like Archibald, Westbrook’s style has made him something of a lightning rod around the league—he is an aggressive scorer, and even if his shots are not falling, he will continue to shoot.

Considering he plays with Kevin Durant, the league’s leading scorer, that leave Westbrook open to criticism. Archibald faced the same sort of thing, especially after joining the Larry Bird-Dave Cowens-Cedric Maxwell Celtics of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Archibald had suffered two Achilles injuries by that point and had lost a step, but he adjusted, helping Boston to the 1981 championship.

Archibald remains the only player to lead the league in both scoring and assists, averaging 34.0 points and 11.4 assists in ’73-’74, playing for Kansas City. Westbrook has never posted that kind of season from an assist standpoint, and he won’t ever be that prolific a scorer. But he has steadily improved as a scorer in his four NBA seasons, increasing his average each year. He was at 23.6 points per game last season.

Overall, his career numbers compare well with those of Archibald. Westbrook has put up 19.0 points, while Archibald—whose scoring tailed off late in his career—retired averaging 18.8 points. Westbrook has shot 43.0 percent in his career, and that was up to 45.7 percent last year. Archibald shot 46.7 percent, playing most of his career before the advent of the 3-point line. Assists are nearly identical for the two, with Archibald averaging 7.4 and Westbrook at 7.2.

Westbrook, having helped the Thunder to the Finals last year, has finally begun to silence some of his critics. Archibald did much the same thing—he is now a member of the Hall of Fame.